There are less than ten years to save the planet

There is less than a decade to avoid catastrophic disruption of the Earth's climate, says a major study published Tuesday.

Written by a broad panel of scientists, former politicians and economists, this report, entitled 'Meeting the Climate Change fixed at ten, "or perhaps even less," the point of no return climate au after which the release of greenhouse gases will lead to a disastrous rise in temperature for the planet.

According to the study, the Earth will reach this stage when the average temperature will be increased 2 degrees from the period before the industrial revolution of 18e century.

But since then, the world has already won 0,8 degree on average. "The world is therefore no longer only a small degree of margin before the point of no return is reached," warn the authors of the study.

For them, the Earth reaches the point of no return when its atmosphere contain 400 parts CO2 per million (ppm). Today it already contains 379 ppm, a level increasing 2 ppm each year, the study said.

A warming of more than 2 degrees Earth will cause serious disruptions in agricultural production, major droughts, increased disease outbreaks, death of forests, the disappearance of many plant and animal species, as well as raising the level of seas.

"An ecological time bomb is on the way," warns Stephen Byers, former British transport minister and member of the expert panel behind the report, which comes as Tony Blair began his presidency G8, the term during which it promised to take climate change head on.

The report recommends urgently to the countries of this organization to produce, here 2025, a quarter of their electricity from renewable sources and to double by 2010 research budgets to non-fossil fuels.

"These are the investments we make from now and over the next 20 years that will allow us to stabilize climate. Not those that we will consent by half the 21e century or beyond, "says Tom Burke, a former adviser to Tony Blair for environmental issues and member also of the panel.